"The Goodfellas" Scorsese Blog #2

Martin Sorcese's film "The Goodfellas" has been regarded as one of the best mobster movies of all time. One of the most interesting aspects of this film was the narration throughout by Ray Liotta who played Henry Hill, an upcoming mobster joining the ranks of some of the finest: Paulie Cicero, Tuddy Cicero, and Jimmy Conway (DeNiro). The introduction to the film was interesting because it was taken from the middle of the film and had just the right amount of graphic violence to catch the viewer's attention. One technical skill utilized by Scorsese was the use of freeze framing. Scorsese froze the shot in order to allow the viewer to take a minute to get a handle on all of these images that are being thrown at them. Scorsese freezes the shot and Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) comments on what is happening oftentimes explaining things that would otherwise be difficult to show visually. Along with the freeze frame Scorsese utilized many other cinematography techniques such as a slow motion shot of DeNiro taking a long drag from his cigarette while sitting down at the bar, low key lighting throughout the film, and red filters often in the presence of danger or anger. Scorsese is a master of his time and this is clearly made obvious through the many complex and meaningful cinematic techniques utilized throughout the film.

Not only was Scorsese able to tell a story through filming and cinematography but he was able to make the focus of the film more obvious through repetition. Scorsese spends a lot of time pounding the idea of family being of huge importance by showing more than necessary shots of family dinners, parties, nights out, card games...etc. He also spends a great deal of the movie showing how important material things are to these people. In one scene Scorsese pans across Henry's closet showing all of his expensive suits and then goes on to pan across his wife's wardrobe as if to focus on how materialistic they really are and how wealth and power has consumed them. I liked how he made Henry's narration increase in speed and made all of the words seem to string together when he was all coked up and paranoid. It seems to me that in this film Scorsese places a lot of commentary on drug abuse and how it can tear up a person and leave them confused, lost and alone. Overall Scorsese's film, "The Goodfellas" is one of my all time favorites because to be completely honest the lifestyle definitely sounds like fun.

Scorsese's: The Departed

Martin Scorsese's film, "The Departed" is a masterpiece full of twists and turns. With an arsenal full of top actors, (Leonardo DeCaprio, Matt Damon, Martin Sheen, and Jack Nicholson...to name a few) "The Departed" is Scorsese's best film since The Goodfellas. A collaborative effort between these top actors and Scorsese's incredible vision for filmmaking has resulted in a massive blockbuster grossing more than $130,000,000 in the box office. Oftentimes the story is seen as the largest piece that contributes to a film,"The Departed" on the other hand, despite having a truly complex and twisted plotline also manages to tell a separate story through the genius of Martin Scorsese's cinematography. I really enjoyed the idea of having two moles, one infiltrating the boston police department and the other infiltrating the irish mafia. When these undercover moles went to work they would report to their higher ups: Frank Costello and Captain Queenan, this really highlighted the fact that these mens lives were essentially the same, living with danger and paranoia but their ultimate purposes were polar opposites. The film begins with some vintage footage from the past, when the film changes into the present it takes on a whole new look, sharper lines and bolder colors. Often in Scorsese's films, diagetic sounds are common, when the phone rings the viewer is able to listen to both sides of the conversation. Scorsese makes it a point to make the antaganist's main belief known in the beginning of his films, he accomplishes this by telling Jack Nicholson to repeat his motto over and over again: "No one gives it to ya, you have got to take it!" he also lets the antaganists beliefs known, for example Scorsese makes it clear that Costello, the irish mafia mob boss is against the church and its methods. This may seem unimportant but it does comment on Scorsese's filmmaking style, he lets the viewer know who the bad guy is but he makes it difficult to see who is in the right in the film. He essentially makes it hard to pick the protaganist out of the bunch.

Scorsese uses a wide variety of techniques throughout his films, a major component in a Scorsese film is the use of symbolism. The overall pace of the film is fast and quite choppy and jumpy with cuts fom past to present. It almost seems as though Scorsese breaks many of the rules when it comes to his film making. One thing that I found interesting and that I had never seen before was a circular zoom out: a character would be singled out and encompassed in a circular field as if to shout at the viewer that this character is important and you should be paying attention to him or her. Scorsese utilizes quick almost subliminal flashback images to alter the mood or feel of the scene. I really liked how fast paced and jumpy the movie was because it really keeps you on the edge of your seat and it keeps you involved and interested in the characters. I have realized that in many of his films there tends to be quite a bit of double crossing, violence and foul language which are all brought together over an opera soundtrack. I also noticed that Scorsese likes to pump up the volume of the music during intense scenes nearing the climax. Scorsese is a master of suspense and drama, he accomplishes this by putting the characters into compromising situations that cause conflicts. For example Billy Costigan (DeCaprio) and Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) are both in love with the same woman! Scorsese will often give certain characters long monologues where thay rant on and on spilling important information for the viewer to pick up on. In the end, I would have to say that Scorsese's most powerful attribute is his ability to incorporate symbolism throughout his films. "The Departed" has one recurring symbol that Scorsese is able to squeeze in there more than once and that is the "RAT". This is important because the whole movie was about two men getting wrapped up in doing something that could wind up getting them killed, the ending is a little ironic as nearly everyone dies in the last two minutes but the last image on the screen is a rat, alive and well running across the screen. Overall I really liked this film and I would recommend it to anyone with half a brain.